Restricting valve



June 24, 1952 E. T. MoRToN ET AL 2,601,549

RESTRICTING VALVE Filed Jan. 2, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 l l .'y 7 "s/ Yzyf 0 2:5:

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E. T. MoRToN Erm. I 2,601,549

June 24, 1952 RESTRICTING VALVE Filed Jan. 2, 1947 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Patented June 24, 1952 RESTRICTING VALVE Evans T'. Morton, Chicago. and' George R. Heidenblut;I Des Plaines, Ill., assignors to Admiral: Corporation... Chicago,

were.

Ill., a corporation of Dela- Applcation January 2, 1947, Serial N o. 719,670

comms. (c1. ca -s) The present invention relates to restricting valves and in particular to a novel restricting valve adapted to be placed in a refrigerant circuloting system to restrict the tlow of refrigerant through the circuit or through a. particular portion of the circuit. y

it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a novel solenoid operated flow restricting valve, to be inserted in a refrigerant circulating system, which incorporates a minimitm of moving parts and which will bey moved. to opener closed positions asv desired regardless of owyand pressure conditions existlngrin the circuit. l'

It is a further object. to provideanovel solenoid operated valve which can readily be changed from the open. to closed condition or from. the closed to open condition without sticking.

It. is a further object to provide anv improved type of restricting valve. for use in a refrigerant system which not become frozen in either the open or the closed position..

It ls still anotherv object to provide a novel soenoid operated restricting valve which is simple in construction,l is economical to manufacture and hasalongllfe. y *Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in `conjura:tion. with` the accompanying draw-ings', wherein:

Fig. l is an elevational View of a jportion of one vtype of refrigerant circulating system incorporatngthe restricting valve of this invention;

Faf is enlarged medial cross sectional viewy with the valve in open position;

3. isy a. view similar to Fig. 2, but illustrat- Y the. valve in closedy position;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary medial cross sectional view :cfa modiiled construction. of the valve; and

Figari a rear elevational view, somewhat in form. of a typical installation incorporating the restricting. valve of this invention. and showing the refrigerator cabinet in nhantomoutline.

The valve of the present invention is particularly' adapted tol be used in a refrigerant circulating system such as that shown in the co-pend :ing application of Evansv T.. Morton. vSerial No. 720,080. lled January 3, 1945?. now Patent No. 3.536.853, for aninvention entitled Multiple Tempezzatura Refrigerator. Specifically, a two tem- Denture refrigerator is described in that application and is. cooled by a. primary-secondary type of refrigeration system which is somewhat schematicalllv illustrated in Fig. 5.. The. system has. a

2 primary 'refrigerant circulating circuit .lill which includes av compressor .'12, condenser 9.4, capillary tube .96, evaporatory 9.8, accumulator IM and suction tube.- lllf; it. also has. av secondarycircuit tu# including a condenser lil and an evaporator |88 which is in Contact with a liner H19. forming the large, moist cold food. storage compartment. The primary evaporator divided into two. portions, one portion l' l0 being in contactv with a frost chest liner Hl and the other portion t2, being Derma-.- nently secured to a so called "contact plate i0. IIhis latter portion. effects:- the transfer of heat between the secondary condenser, which. is secured to a similar contact plateL and the primari;v evaporator and is the portion illustrated in detail -n- Fig. 1.. The two contact plates are removably secured together so that the primaryrefrigeration system may be removed from the cabinet, indicated by the dot-dash lines and the; reference character H2.

In this type of. refrigerator, it is. frequently desirable to cool` the frost chest withoutv cooling the. secondary` condenser H36, and at. other.l times to. cool the secondary condenser Ill-6. The re.- irigeratorf isl` provided with separate and inde pendent thermostatic controls (not shown) which may be.. responsive to the respective compartment temperatures orto the temperatures ofY therefrigerant associated with the compartments and circulating .in the pri-mary and. secondary systems. The: thermostat. associated with the frost chest .HI controls the` operation ofthe compressor 92. while; that. associated with the warmer compartment H19 controls the. cooling conditionsv in respect; of' the secondary condenser IUE. In order that the secondary condenser lllli` may be cooled independently of the frost chest IH., the primary system incorporates the two separate evaporator portions I2 and Ilo. These portions are so arranged that they may be connected in series or that one of them-that which coolsy the secondary condenser-may be lay-passed. The bypass is provided with a controllable restriction which.. in the refrigerator under discussion, is the restricting valve of the present invention, this valve being in, either the closed or open position as set by the warmer ecnnaprtmentr thermostatic control.

. In other types of primary-secondary refrigeratingsystems, two primary evaporators may be arranged in parallel or' partially in parallel and partially in series. Regardless of what type of primary system is used., it is desirable to control the flow ofrefrigerant through the different evaporator portions in such. manner that the noid core 38 resistance is the smallest. By alternating the resistance the` refrigerant can be made to flow through the proper evaporator portions according to the cooling requirements of the refrigerator compartments.

It is not necessary that `an absolute shutting off of the coils of a particular section or portion of the evaporator be made but merely that it require more pressure to send refrigerant through the one portion of the evaporator than through the portion that is to be used for a particular cooling. By properly placing the restricting valve of the present invention in the refrigerant circulating tubing, the desired control over the flow of refrigerant through the different portions of the evaporator may be obtained.

While the invention is described with particular reference to the primary-secondary system of the aforesaid application of Evans T. Morton, Serial No. '720,080 and illustrated in Fig. 5, nevertheless it is to be understood that the principles of balancing pressures and resistance to flow may be applied to othertypes of refrigerating systems and the restricting valve of the present rinvention may be used in such systems. 'Ihe illustration, therefore, is merely indicative of one use of the invention and is not to be considered as being limitative.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3, the primary contact plate I normally in contact and heat exchange relationship withthe similar plate secured to the secondary condenser I06, has the primary. evaporator coil .I2, soldered, brazed or welded to the face thereof to provide a good thermal connection. The inlet end of the coil .j I2 is connected at I4 to a tube I6 the end I8 of which is in turn connected to the capillary tube -98 of .the primary refrigerant circulating system. The outlet-end of the coil II2 is connected at 2U `to thetube I6. Suitable refrigerant trapsl'3 are providedin the vcoil I2 to increase the resistance to the flow of refrigerant .therethrough thereby preventing such flow when the resistance to flow through the vtube I6 is less than that through the coil I2. The reference character 22 indicates the .end of the tube` I6 which is connected to that `por- 4 as iron or steel. The core 38 is recessed at 38 to fit over the upper end of the valve body to which it is silver soldered at 40.

A valve plunger 42 formed of a magnetic material reciprocates vertically within the valve body 30. Neither the plunger 42 nor the core 38 are permanent magnets nor madeoflmaterial which may be permanently magnetizedv by ordinary household current customarily supplied at l- 120 volts. The valve body 42 is provided with an intermediate portion 44 of considerably reduced diameter and With a rounded head pory tion 46, When the plunger 42 is at the bottom tion IIII of. the primary evaporator which is in contact with the frost chestA liner II I. A refrigerant flow` controlling restricting valve .24 is placed in the tube I8 intermediate the junctions lI4 and 20.

The tube IB is formed in two sections, 26 and ,28, and is madeof a non-magnetic material such as copper, vwhich possesses the further advantageous characteristic of noncorrosiveness.' The tubes 26 and 28 are silver soldered to a vertically disposed tubular valve body 30, preferably made of brass, which is rclosed at its bottom 32 and open at the top. Below its vertical center. the valve body is provided with a pair. of diametricallyopposed openings 34 which are in communication with the tubes 26 and 28. At its upper end the valve body 30 is closed by a very thin brass plate 3E which is retained in positionfby a soleformed of a magnetic material such -of the valve body 3U the reduced portion 44 is oppositeA the openings 34 and the valve is open; but when the valve body 42 is in its raised position (Fig. 3), the portion 46 is opposite the openings 34 and the valve is closed.

The'plunger 42 has an outside diameter slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the tubular valve' body 30 so that the plunger will reciprocate freely and Iwill not stick in either its raised or lowered position. Since the plunger face area at 'the top of the reduced portion 44 is equal to that at the bottom thereof, the effective fluid pressure exerted on the faces of the reduced portion is zero, and the plunger will reciprocate in the Valve body independently of the pressure of the refrigerant or of its rate of flow. In practice it has been found that an annular clearance of .0 15 inch between the plunger and the valve body gives very satisfactory performance and actually does not completely cut off the flow of refrigerant from the tube 26 to the tube 28 when the valve is' in its closed position.` When the valvel is closed the path'of least resistance is through the coil I2. However, with. the reduction in pressure at the junction of the .capillary tube and the tube I6 the refrigerant 'commences boiling anda small amount of vapor or gas is formed. By causing the gas to bubble out of the liquid refrigerant in the tube I6 it Willpass the restricting'valve 24 without carrying an appreciable amount'of liquid refrigerant with it. This gas separation means is illustrated and described in the copending .application of Evans T. Morton, Ser. No. 720,080.

A solenoid coil 48 provided with leads. 50 and 52 is mounted around the core 38. The coil 48 is wound upon a suitable spool 5'4 flanged at 56 and 58 and made of an electrical insulatinglmaterial. The solenoid core 38 is cylindrical, and the spool., has a complementary. cylindrical opening. A U-shap'ed shield or retainer 60 removably holds the solenoid coil 48 in placefon the core.. vThe retainer 6I] is provided with a bottom flange 62 having an opening 64 which is only slightly larger than the outside diameter ofthe core 38 `and slips readily thereover. Adjacent vits upper end the core 38 is'provided With a shoulder 66 on which an upper flange 68 of the retainer 6I! is seated, the diameter of opening 1U in the top flange .being smaller than the major outside diameter of the core 38. A hairpin shaped retaining spring 12 is engaged in a notch 'I4 in the upper end of the core 38 above the flange 68 toprevent inadvertent removal or dislodging of the 0011.48 from the core 38.

The solenoid coil'48 is removable from' the valve and the core 38 because it is desirable to have the primary refrigerent circulating system removable from the cabinet. 'Since the valve 24 is a permanent component of the primary system it is likewise removed.l "Usually -itfwill `be unnecessary to removelthe solenoid coil 48from the refrigerator cabinet,fand, therefore, itfis anemie desirable :thatithe-fcoilt-be removable from the.

valve body.

In the typical refrigerating system.k shown in Fig. 5 the solenoid coil/48 is energized and deenergi-zed according to temperature conditions in the warmer or food storage compartment |09 of the refrigerator. When thistemperature rises above a desired. value, the circuitzincludingthe solenoid coil 48 is energized andthe plunger `42 is moved upwardly to the .position shown in Fig. 3 to increase the amount of resistance' to the flow of refrigerant through the tube I5 s0 that itisgreaterthanthe resistance of the coil I2, therebycausing the refrigerant to flow through theevaporator coil l2 which is secured to the face of the contact plate I8. When suffcient'cooling'of the secondary'refrigerant circulating` system vlhas taken place and the temperature in fthe" food storage 'compartment hasl dropped sufli'ciently, the circuit to the solenoid coil 48 will be broken and the plunger ,42 will 'dropbygravity to the bottomk of the valve body 38, bringing the portion 44 ofthe plunger oppos'te'th'e openings 34 tor restore communication between the tubes 28' 'and 28. With the valve 24 open the evaporator coil l2 will be by-passed because the liquid refrigerant in the traps I3 builds up sufficient resistance to prevent now therethrough provided a parallel path having a lower resistance is open; this low resistance path is through the tube I6 and Valve 24.

rPhe brass plate 36 placed between the upper end of the plunger 42 and the adjacent lower` face of the core 38 prevents the establishment of a holding magnetic circuit through the plunger 42 and the core 38 based upon residual magnetism, so that when the magnetic circuit built up by the coil 48 collapses, the plunger 42 will drop by gravity to the bottom of the valve body. It is, of course, important that the valve 24 be mounted so that the plunger 42 will be returned to its rest or normal position by gravity.

A modified type of valve 24a. which operates on the same principle as the valve illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 is shown in Fig. 4. This valve comprises a valve body 38a having the general form-of a cross and made of a brass forging or extrusion. A vertical bore or cylinder 16 is drilled therein but not through it, so that the bottom of the cylinder is closed. A plunger 42a is mounted for vertical reciprocation within the bore or cylinder 'I6 in the same manner as the plunger 42 is mounted within the tubular valve body 3U. A bore 18 perpendicular to the cylinder 16 is drilled through the cross arms of the valve body 30a and is provided with counter-bores 88 into which sections Za and 28a of the refrigerator tubing I6 are inserted. The tubing portions 26a and 28a are silver-soldered or lorazed to the valve body 38a at 82.

The upper open end of the valve body 38a is capped by the iron core 38 and the brass plate 36 is interposed between the solenoid core 38 and the upper edge of the valve body 38a. In order to accommodate and locate the core 38, the outside wall of the vertically extending portion of the valve body 38a. is turned down at 84. and the core 38 is soldered or brazed thereto at 86.

The plunger 42a.I is somewhat different from. the plunger 42 in that it has a reduced portion 44aof greater section. However, the clearance between the reduced portion 44a and vertical cylinder 16 is not less than the cross-sectional area of the bore 18 so that when the valve is in open position it presents no greater resistance to the 6 flow of refrigerant.''thandoesv the bore 18.-4 The valve plunger has a rounded top .S8-for engage, ment with the brass washer 35 to make the valve less noislywhen held in closed position by the solenoid. The rounded hea-dl 88 presents'a single pointed contact with the plate 36, whereas the fiat headed valve p'lunger42' illustrated 'in Figs. l to 3 presents a plane surface.. At times the plane surface is not even or a small bit'of metal. projects'r outwardly therefrom, which causes the valvepl'unger d'2 to. chatter as. it is held in ythe raised or closed position by the energized solenoidA coil 318. f I

The operation of the modified' formv of. restriction valve 24a as shown in Fig.' 4 is'identical. with that of Figs. lk to. 3 and need not be repeated.

' Both illustrated embodiments of the invention disclose the valve to be open when the plunger isin 'the rest or normal position; 'it is obvious.- that with a minor rearrangement-the: valve can be chahged'rso that it will be open when the plunger is raised and the solenoid coil energized. While a preferredleinbodiment of the invention'hasA beendescribed, -t will be apparent to those skilled in the art that numerous modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, which, therefore, is intended to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by United Stat-es Letters Patent is:

l. In a refrigerant circulating system, tubing forming alternative paths for refrigerant flow, one of said paths normally presenting less resistance to refrigerant now than the other path, a restriction in the low resistance path, said restriction comprising a normally open valve including in combination, a valve body, a pair of' diametrically opposed openings in said valve body communicating with the tubing, a plunger reciprocable in said valve body, said plunger having a portion substantially but not completely filling the cross sectional area of said valve body adjacent said openings so as to provide a capillary-like space between said plunger and said valve body when the valve is closed substantially to prevent the flow of liquid refrigerant therethrough but to permit the free flow of gaseous refrigerant therethrough, said plunger having a second portion of reduced cross sectional area adjacent said openings when the valve is open, and means associated with said plunger for moving said plunger in only one direction, said plunger returning to its first position by gravity.

2. In a refrigerant circulating system, tubing forming alternative paths for refrigerant flow, one of said paths normally presenting less resistance to refrigerant iiow than the other path, a restriction in the low resistance path, said restriction comprising a normally open valve including in combination, a valve body, a pair of openings in said valve body communicating with the tubing, a plunger reciprocable in said valve body, said plunger having a portion substantially but not completely filling the cross sectional area of said valve body adjacent said openings so as to provide a capillary-like space between said plunger and said valve body when the valve is closed substantially to prevent the flow of liquid refrigerant therethrough but to permit the free flow of gaseous refrigerant therethrough, said plunger having a second portion of reduced cross sectional area adjacent said openings when the valve is open, and a solenoid coil associated with said plunger for moving said plunger in only one direction, said plunger returning to its rst position by gravity.

l 3.,In a refrigerant circulating system, tubing forming an evaporator, said evaporator being formed to have a high resistance to refrigerant ilow, a by-pass around said evaporator normally presenting less resistance to refrigerant ow than said evaporator, a restriction in the low resist ance path, said restriction comprising a normally open valve including in combination, a valve body, a pair of diametrically opposed openings in said valve body communicating with said tubing, a plunger reciprocable in said valve body,

, said plunger having a portion substantially bui'l not completely filling the cross sectional area of said valve body adjacent said openings so as to provide a capillary-like space between said plunger and said valve body when the valve Lis closed substantially to prevent the flow of liquidl refrigerant therethrough but to permit the free flow of gaseous refrigerant therethrough. said plunger having a second portion of reduced cross sectional area adjacent said openings when theV valve is open,and a solenoid coil associated with said plunger for moving said plunger in only one direction, said plunger returning to its nrst position by gravity.

- EVANS T. MORTON.

GEORGE R. HEIDENBLUT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

` UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name y Date Re.,12,710 Kramer Oct. 29, 1907 563,879 Paul July 14, 1896 811,064 Hughes Jan. 30, 1906 1,140,623 Simmien May 25, 1915 1,271,670 Conrad July 9, 1918 1,523,112 FitzGerald Jan. 13, 1925 2,374,895 Ray May 1, 1945 2,519,578 Jiminez Aug. 22, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 214,451 Great Britain Apr. 24, 1924 

